Bethesda’s Shattered Space marks the first major DLC for Starfield, a game that, whilst critically was received generally quite well, has proven to be very divisive amongst the gaming community. I have not officially reviewed the main game, but for context before we dive into this review, I was extremely happy with what I played at launch. I expected a “Bethesda” game in space, and I very much got what I expected.
Event Horizon
So, onto Shattered Space. Whilst the vast majority of the DLC takes place on the planet Va’ruun ‘Kai, the opening hour or so takes place on board a ship within which a catastrophe has occurred, rendering the crew dead and the ship’s gravity disabled. This opening hour gave me great hope for what was to come. Exploring the ship in zero g with crew members floating amidst ship debris, failing systems, and the occasional enemy encounter made for a great horror-esq atmosphere, and it was a genuine joy to explore every nook and cranny and mess around with the engine’s physics in a zero g setting.
Events on board eventually lead you to Va’ruun ‘Kai, the hidden homeworld of House Va’ruun and the backdrop to the remainder of the DLC.
Va’ruun ‘Kai is quite stunning from a visual/art design perspective. Bright colours make up the landscape, a red aurora tarnishes the sky, and the catastrophe that you are here to solve sits ominously in the backdrop. It all makes for a strong aesthetic, and I ended up spending some time exploring the planet, completing a few side missions, and making ship-based excursions to areas distant from the main hub.
It is here that I will make my first critique. Your enjoyment of this expansion will very much depend on how you play Starfield. If you are one to really explore a planet, take on various side quests, or want a visually pleasing place to build an outpost, you will get a lot more out of this than if you just want to beeline the main quests.
All Must Serve
Why, you ask? Well, as I continued the main questline, I quickly came to the realisation that the opening was indeed the high point of this expansion’s story. What started out as genuine intrigue unfortunately became marred by a few hours of quite poorly managed quests, which, for me, sucked a lot of the momentum out of what was a really strong start. There was a lot of “go here and speak to this person, follow waypoint, click here, and now return.” These few missions in the middle of the questline were quite lengthy, and, whilst they did have a few good moments, I found myself losing some interest in the mystery I was striving to solve. I actually stopped and did a couple more side quests to break up the main missions before diving back in and playing through to the story’s conclusion.
The main city itself was fun to explore, and it was nice to see the Va’ruun culture embellished upon and to hear more about the Great Serpent, granting a deeper understanding of what drives and motivates its followers. As you explore and help the denizens of Va’ruun ‘Kai, you will learn more about the Va’ruun culture as well as having the opportunity to recruit two new crew members. The expansion does also add some new weapons. And, whilst these also have a great aesthetic, I ultimately did not end up using them, though I did dabble in the melee weapons that kind of gave me a Klingon vibe.
As we are talking about Va’ruun culture, I would recommend bringing Andreja along with you to Va’ruun ‘Kai. She offers unique dialogue options and, for me, added to the experience while feeling “right” from a roleplaying point of view.
Thankfully, the final hour of the main questline does indeed pick up and culminates in quite a challenging “escape” along with a few choices that, on the surface, seem to be quite impactful, though I have yet to see if these will have any real impact back in the base game or the overall experience.
It is worth also touching on the technical aspects of the game. I played on a high-end PC, and I was generally happy with the game from a tech point of view, though I did experience some bugs that, whilst not game breaking, did take me out of the immersion when they occurred.
As I said in the opening to this review, how you play Starfield will impact your enjoyment. I personally like to explore and don’t tend to purely stick to the main quest, and if you are someone who does the same, I think you will enjoy the expansion. That enjoyment may be less so for the story, but more so for the setting and additional activities. Unfortunately, if you are indeed a player who only wants to focus on the main story, I fear you may find the experience lacking in places.
Conclusion
A strong opening and great setting are unfortunately let down by a less-than-engaging story. If you are an explorer, this expansion will be worthy of your time. In terms of replayability (and my attributed score below), this is really for those that, like me, will revisit Va’ruun ‘Kai long after the main quest has been completed. Starfield: Shattered Space is largely a one and done type of experience, though a replay to make some different choices could offer some incentive to revisit on a later playthrough.
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